How to Take a Slapshot

How to Take a Slapshot

Slap shots are very easy to learn yet hard to master. A lot of people feel that blasting a puck as hard as humanly possible qualifies as a great shot. Slap shots are just as much about accuracy as they are about power.

In this article we have two videos, this first video breaks down the mechanics of the slapshot, and in the video at the bottom of this article we share some slapshot tips on the ice.

Slapshot Key points

When taking a slapshot their are some key points to remember:

Weight transfer – Just like other shots in hockey weight transfer plays a huge roll in the slap shot. You must move all your weight from your back leg to your front leg in one fluent motion. The idea is to shift your weight in the direction of the shot. This puts more energy, and power into your slap shot.

Accuracy over Power – It is better to be accurate then to shoot the puck at 100mph, you will never score a goal if you can not hit the net! I once played with a defensemen who had a bullet of a shot, the problem was that his shot would be all over the map. The perfect slap shot for a defensemen is 10 to 12 inches off the ice. Taking low shots makes it easier for your defensemen to screen, or tip the shot in. By keeping your shots low and accurate, your forwards will be more confident stand in front of the net, tip in your shots, or crank in the rebounds.

Stay low and Load the Stick – Many players who are learning to take a slapshot try to hit the puck, this is not the proper way to take a slapshot. When taking a slap shot you should be contacting the ice first. You should hit the ice 3 to 5 inches behind the puck (or more depending on the stick, the shot, and how strong you are) this allows you to load or flex the stick first ( like in those fancy pictures you see of NHL players bending their sticks almost in half or the one in this article). Loading the stick like this is where a lot of the power in your slapshot comes from. When lining up the puck put it about two – three feet in front of you and about 2 inches behind your front skate (see picture). When taking the shot you want the blade of the stick to contact the ice a few feet out, and in the middle of your stance, this gives your stick time to flex, when the blade hits the puck it should flex even more . Also remember to stay low and trust your stick, you need to throw most of your weight (the more the better) onto your stick. This will allow you to increase the power on your shot without the huge windups.

Location of Puck for Slapshot – For a slapshot you want the puck to hit the blade of your stick close to the middle, between the heel and middle of the blade is where you get the most power. With a slapshot the puck spends very little time on the blade of the stick. You want to hit the ice, load the stick, hit the puck, and then launch it (remeber follow through, and weight transfer)

Follow through – A very simple rule and tip for slapshot accuracy is follow through low and your shot will stay low and if you follow through and aim your stick high your shot will go high.

The process of taking a Slapshot

Your bottom hand should be about half way down the stick or more. Line the puck a few feet in front of you and 2-3 inches behind your front foot. Keep your legs at shoulder width and bend your knees.

See the postion of the puck and skates. Skates are shoulder width apart, and the puck is 3 inches behind my front foot and a few feet in front.

Now line your shot up, do not shoot hard off the start, practice connecting the ice first and getting a feel for your stick flexing. Start putting more and more weight onto your stick as you progress. When you feel comfortable, start increasing both the speed and strength of your shot. Another tip is to aim your skates where you want the puck to go, a great trick is once you have released the puck turn your front skate to the area you are aiming at.

This is a perfect example of a loaded stick and shows how much extra power you can add to your shot by utilizing your stick

Remember to watch your follow through and always see where the puck goes. Everyone is different and dialing in your shot is always a personal preference.

See the follow through, I was aiming top corner and thats where my stick and eyes ended up, at the end of your follow through it should look like you are looking down a rifle.

How To Take a Slapshot Video

Now you feel comfortable taking a slap shot and it is time to work on accuracy and muscle memory (muscle memory is built through repetition). The key to a great slap shot is accuracy and the best way to build it is through trial and error. Set up as many pucks as you can find. Get a bucket or some sort of a target and set it up about 20 feet away. Now start taking shot after shot after shot, don’t rush your shots, set up and prepare on each one. Once you start hitting 5 or 6 pucks in a row at your target, stop. Now go for a skate/ do a lap or practice your wrist shot. Now go back and start hitting them again. Keep repeating this process. This will condition your body that no matter what you were doing when you wind up for a slapshot it will be ready to give you the perfect shot everytime.

Slapshot Tips

Thanks to the guys at hfboards.com and the OMHA forum for some tips on improving your slapshot. Many of these tips are from older rec players who are trying to improve their slapshots, coaches and even new players trying to learn how to take a slapshot. Here are some quick slapshot pointers to remember

Rotate Your Hips and Trunk

This is a good way to add power to your shot, As you wind up the slapshot, your hips and shoulders should be in a line to the target. As you come down, make contact, and follow through, your hips and shoulders should open up to the target (see picture above), adding a rotational force to the shot.

Try different stick heights and weights

Sometimes using a ligther stick, shorter or longer stick, or a stick with less, or more flex may make a difference in your shot. Try some different sticks out and try to find one that works the best for you.

Lead With your Bottom Hand

Here is a quote from the HFboards “One of the things i noticed that helped was getting low to the ice, dropping your lower hand down the shaft maybe a foot or so (note: Your hand should be halfway down the shaft or more), and really keeping that arm straight and pushing down and forward with it.”

Try leading with your bottom hand, really leaning into your stick and pushing the puck forwards.

Look at the Net when Shooting

Even if your shot is not that great you will score more, How many times do you see a hockey player just shoot blindly and hit the goalie in the crest and then wonder why that happened? Look, aim, and shoot

Slapshot Tips for Defense Video

How to Get More Power from Your Slapshot

Here are a few more articles (and videos) to help you progress on your slapshot

This article and video goes over some of the common mistakes that people make when trying to learn the slapshot. Watching the video and reading the tips should help you avoid cheating, and help you get the most power from your slapshot

Hey , just a quick question for you , I feel comfortable placing my hand pretty low on the stick when doing a slap shot . Is this incorrect? Am I supposed to place my hand in the middle of the stick ? I tried doing so and my slap shots where not lifting off the ice , but when my hand was lower it was going right below top cross bar from the blue line.

A little lower than half is fine, but not TOO far down. The reason I say half, or just a bit lower is because that is where your hand needs to be to be able to flex the shaft the most. If the hand is down too low you won’t flex the stick as much and the shot will be less powerful.

The biggest you ever want to go is where the wind-up is in the picture. Yes it is huge, but for maximum power that’s the biggest you should go and there are times you can get a wind-up like that.

For your question, yes winding up to the waist is effective, I think you should learn how to get power from a very low wind-up, wind-up to your waist, and a full wind-up. This will add versatility to your shot so you can choose and use a different wind-up depending on the situation.

I have tried everything listed on here. I still cant get any power on my slapshots. I’ve triee rolling my wrist too but that mad it worse. Its always slow and low to the ground. My wrist shots on the other hand are very accurate and powerful. Please help, I really want to get a nice powerful slapshot!

[…] with your slapshot you can see the basics and links to other related videos and articles on our how to take a slapshot article, but this summer I want to see how much I can improve my wrist shot and snapshot. I also […]

[…] before you can learn how to take a one timer. For help with your slapshot check out our article on how to take a slapshot. If you already have a grasp of the slapshot then check out our article and video filled with […]

Jeremy, every once in a while my slap shot has a bit of wobble in it – doesn’t spin/fly cleanly. Any idea why? Also, I’ve heard people advise to “add some wrist” to your slapshot. What do they mean by this exactly? Thanks!

thank you for your awsome video i have a really fast shot but i didnt really know how to keep it low so just stuck to a rist shot for awhile i have a game to day and i am going to try to keep those tips in mind keep making videos
!!

[…] a lot of our readers have been participating in the slapshot challenge where we have shown you how to take a slapshot, how to improve your slapshot power, slapshot tips and where slapshot power comes from. Now we are […]

You definitely have to shoot differently with low flex sticks compared to high flex sticks. If you have a stiffer stick I find you will get harder shots (if you know how to use it), if you want to still have a decent shot with a whippy stick you need to hit the ice further back to allow the stick to flex more.

I just recently bought a very flexy stick and before i would have an amazing slapshot with a stiffer stick, my slapshot now is not half as good, should my stick hit the ice more further away from the puck or just get a stiffer stick?

fflexy sticks are terrible for defence because of what you just said. you will actually over-flex the stick and suck power away form the shot. A way to compensate is to actually hit closer to the puck. you will load you stick with just as much flex and since the stick has more flex it will whip back quicker. hope this help.

[…] video was made to explain some slapshot tips for defensemen. This video compliments our article how to take a slapshot. A few of the slapshot tips for defensemen include keeping the puck low, work on accuracy first, […]